A Finite Element Method to Investigate Electrical Contact Behaviors Considering Asperity Interactions

Interactions between neighboring asperities play an important role in evaluating the contact status accurately during the loading process for rough surfaces. In this paper, a three-dimensional finite element model considering interactions between two asperities is built for electrical contact analysis. Based on the simulation, effects of contact radii of a-spots and horizontal spacing between asperities on the contact area and contact resistance are investigated explicitly. The simulation results are compared with the theoretical results ignoring interactions for the same parameters. Furthermore, the critical conditions of considering interactions between asperities are determined. In addition, curve-fit equations for dimensionless contact resistance including the influence of asperity interactions are presented, which could be directly applied to the analysis for the rough surfaces in contact.